Back on Track

  Hello, my many (zero) blog readers. I hope everyone had a great Christmahanukwanzikka. I had a great one. I gave many gifts and it felt good. For some reason, this year I was bombarded with GREAT gifts. I've never really cared for receiving gifts, and usually tell everyone not to worry about getting me anything. This year nobody listened.
   Anyway, on to what this blog is really about: Cord's pursuit of animation excellence. I have a very beautiful, and far too giving girlfriend, who for Christmas gave me a custom built, top-of-the-line, superfastawesomepretty computer. The thing is a beast. My old computer was a used hand-me-down with 512Mb of RAM that I got for free from a school. Needless to say it couldn't run ANY software without pooping it's pants and falling apart. Hell, it took ten seconds to open the start menu.
   Today I used my new machine to do several quick exercises in Flipbook, something I could never do with the old one. I normally prefer animating on paper, because trying to draw detail with a Tablet is like trying to draw detail with a ten foot crooked stick. But drawing right into Flipook is great for knocking out exercises while quickly making corrections and learning from mistakes, without worrying too much about how well it's drawn. I definitely feel like this new computer is going to help pull me from the animation dry spell I've been experiencing.

This is an exercise from a Jason Ryan webinar about timing and spacing that I watched today. This isn't from my brain, I copied all of his frames to help me feel out how he does it. I learned a lot from doing this.

The bat exercise made me want to try other fast movements, like smear frames.

In this one, the  character drawings are ugly and downright embarrassing. But I wanted to focus more on the movement of the ball (which I'm pretty happy with).

Buncha stuff

 Haven't done much worth posting in a while, but I figured I could upload a few sketches out of the new sketchbook I've been keeping. Exhilarating, eh?

I did a lot of doodling at the Expo. Ideas, feelings, caricatures, etc.

When your dad's a taxidermist, a little animal reference is never hard to find.

And some more random drivel.

And hey, why not a bouncing ball I did today?

CTN Animation Expo

   I almost wasn't able to, but this weekend I got to go to the CTN Expo in Burbank, CA. It was fantastic. There were so many people: students, professionals and gods alike, all sharing the same space and exchanging ideas. I saw a few heroes, like Andreas Deja, Eric Goldberg, Bill Plympton, Ron and John. And gained a few more, like Reno Armanet, Mike Nguyen, and Oscar Grillo

   I attended a workshop with French independent animator Reno Armanet, and learned a bit about running your own studio and remaining unique. My three years of French classes barely scratched the language barrier, but it was a fun class nonetheless. I also got a copy of the Animation Insiders book, full of individual artists' workflow process, signed by Reno. And a print of a character from one of his short films, OA, also signed by him.

   I attended a group conversation with the indy king, Bill Plympton, who shared his thoughts on the outlook of indy animation, and his rules for making a successful short film. I also got a copy of his latest feature, Idiots & Angels, and a doodle of his Guard Dog, both signed by the king himself.

   The most valuable workshop I attended was with Mike Nguyen. Mike graduated from CalArts in the late 80s and has since worked for all the big studios. Recently, he left and started on his own feature film called My Little World. Mike, like me, is a strong believer in traditional animation. His talk was about the various strengths of hand-drawn animation, and how to keep it relevant and fresh. He's all about the content, down to the tiniest atom of each character. Mike animates his characters from the soul, and works his way outward. You can feel his passion for the medium when he's talking about it. He quickly became a hero of mine, and I sure hope to see his film in theaters some day.

An early shot of one of the rows of booths. Later to be filled to the brim until the expo ended two days later.

Myself with the lovely girl that made it possible for me to attend. She was an awesome road trip buddy and hotel roomy.

   Overall, I had a blast. I met hundreds of great artists and was bombarded with ideas. It really opened my mind up. I can't wait 'til next year.

Shiny Robo

   Long time no post, but I feel like I'm making up for it here. Today I cleaned and colored an animation for the first time. It's definitely a lot more work, but hey it looks pretty.

I Painted Something!!

This little doodle happened for two reasons.

       Reason 1) Lately I've been aching to try painting, but I've proven many times in the past that it's not my thing.

       Reason 2) I've been trying to think up ideas for my first tattoo, and it has to be animation-related. I had thought of a few character's that would be ok. Stitch and Rafiki came to mind because they're interesting and I love the way they're animated, but that's not enough to justify permanent ink. Then this idea hit me. Necron99 from Ralph Bakshi's Wizards. He would be a great tattoo for so many reasons. Wizards is now on my top list of favorites, and Bakshi has become my all-time hero for his view on the world and his persistence to produce art and stories that are important to him, no matter what others say. So the tattoo would serve as a reminder to always ask, "what would Bakshi do?" Let's not forget that Necron99's a bad-ass, so that helps too.

 Anyway, I searched google for some images of him, and found this great pose. I love the simplicity in his design and color, and that sparked this urge to paint it. So I drew it, broke out some acrylics, and Ta-Daa! I can officially paint a flat level of red and yellow. Look out, Picasso.

More Robo

All finished inbetweening this little guy. Now I'm gonna clean it up and color it.

I'm having a lot of fun with this, because I'm trying to play with Squash&Stretch and goofy inbetweens. Lately I've been wanting to do work like John Kricfalusi. I've never done really loose, cartoony stuff before, and it's something I want to practice for a while.

My hero

I first saw this video a couple of months ago, and it's probably the most inspirational video I've ever seen. Nothing gets me more gung-ho and ready to animate than this speech by Ralph.

(honestly, I'm posting it here so it's easier to find next time I need to light a motivational fire under my butt.)

Wizards, Again

   Ok, I've gotta rant about Wizards again. I'm trying to figure out why I love this movie so much. I honestly watched it four times in a row yesterday. I've never done that before! There are so many things about Bakshi's films that I adore. I love that you can see  it was made by hand. I love the low-budget feel.
   Yes, all traditionally animated movies are hand-made, but there's something about Bakshi's films that remind you you're watching something made by a group of passionate people. There's a saying about animation along the lines of, "If the audience can catch what you did, you're not doing your job well enough." But for some reason that's what I crave. I'm so excited to see little imperfections, because then I feel connected with the artist.
    Another great thing about his movies is the stylistic disconnect between the backgrounds and the characters. You have simple, animatable characters set against intricate backgrounds that are delicately inked with pen, or painted in watercolor, or even filmed in live action. And for some reason it works, and makes me want more.

   Ralph Bakshi proved that you can make a good movie that has heart without spending millions of dollars. All you need is a handful of determined artists (seriously, there were 5-6 animators on this entire film!), and an honest, heart-felt story that you want to show to an audience. I want my own films to reflect his style and outlook.

Robo

I had a lot of fun today animating this little shot. It's all on two's, and so far only contains keys and breakdowns. I'm actually really happy with this one and can't wait to finish it tomorrow.

Cats

     After seeing this post on Andreas Deja's blog, I was (as usual) blown away by Adreas' lines. It got me wanting to draw some big cats as well. Nowhere near Mr. Deja, but I had a lot of fun, and plan on doing more.

Random Drawings?

Why not?

These random sketches really help take the ideas and images swimming around my mind and dump them onto paper. And it's always fun.

Animation Is Hard

     This medium is an intense combination of drawing skill, performance, and knowledge of  physical movement.
     The area I need to improve most is my drawing. Lately, I've been having a hard time with drawing. It's like my well of creativity is empty, and all that I can pull from it is the mud at the bottom. My drawings have been downright ugly and incoherent. Figure drawing classes help to fill up the well for a couple of days, but I'm soon back to the bottom.
     When it comes to performance, I feel talent inside me and can imagine a great performance, but my drawing ability hinders it from coming onto the page.
     The other difficult aspect is the physical motion, the actual animating. It's a crazy thing. To animate believably, you need an uncanny understanding of things moving through space in time that doesn't really exist until the drawings are compiled and played at a certain speed. It boggles my mind, but I feel like I'm getting better.
     A friend and I were talking about enthusiasm yesterday, and how important it is to have it in every piece of work you do. When I'm excited about what I'm doing, ideas and creativity flow like a river and I love everything I draw. But sometimes I just can't get excited, so I produce crappy drawings and in turn become even less enthusiastic about what to draw next. Then I go a week without touching a pencil. I watch lots of cartoons and wish I could be making them, but get frustrated at the thought of trying.
     Then one day I'm at work and a little idea pops into my head. I start to doodle, make a funny picture with a caption that my friends laugh at, and suddenly I'm craving my drawing desk. Ideas are bombarding me and I need to create again.
     My lesson in this is that you have to draw enthusiasm and creativity from other people. Sitting alone, bashing your head against a desk doesn't make better ideas happen. You need to absorb experiences and bounce ideas off of others.
     My drawing, performance, and animation talents will increase with time and practice, but I need to find a group of artists that keep me inspired and excited enough to keep pushing forward.

A Happy Squirrel

And why shouldn't he be? 

  An attempt at a double-bounce walk. I'm somewhat happy with it. Working on the tail right now (Overlap on a bushy tail and a double bounce is quite bewildering).

Funny Business

So, I've been working on this idea for a little while. Mimey here is trying to impress a couple of clowns, for whatever reasons a mime might have to do such a thing.

 

Here's the first bit of animation for the mime. 

For whatever reason, stupid YouTube uploads cut off the last couple of frames, which only show him land.

Any thoughts and critiques are very very welcome.

Soap Box

   I just bought the DVD of Ralph Bakshi's Wizards, and I really liked it. Ever since I learned who he was and what he did, he's been a hero of mine. I also bought his biography, "Unfiltered, The Complete Ralph Bakshi." He was a man that only did films that he wanted to do, and had complete artistic control over everything in his films. No, the animation, effects and sound aren't as tight as in a major studio picture, but that's due to the low budgets he had to work with.
   Before Wizards, Ralph had made quite a few films, all very gritty, violent, sexual, honest, adult-oriented films; he proved that animation is not only kiddie fare, which it has been made out to be. Wizards was his way of showing that he could tell a child-oriented story too, but still have honest, "how the real world is" undertones.
   Now, in the film you will hear a few "swear" words (dammit, hell), see violence and war, and hear one obscure sexual reference that would fly right over any kid's head. Also, one of the main characters, Fairy Queen Elinore, is scantily clothed, constantly revealing full cleavage , erect nipples, and thighs/buttocks.

   Watching this film pointed out to me something that has been bugging me for a long time. This film, if released today would most definitely recieve a PG-13, and maybe even an R rating. But in 1977 it was rated PG, which means parental guidance suggested. Those words are entirely ignored today. PG doesn't mean "Bring your kids! Nothing here will hurt/scare/affect them in any way! In fact, you can sue us if you see something you don't like!" It means as parents you are to decide if this film is something you want your kids to see. If not, don't take them to it. Don't buy it for them. It's that simple. Over-protective professional parents have truly stifled the amount of artistic freedom allowed in media these days, because everyone is afraid to be sued for offending anyone. It's such a huge problem, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it. Bakshi did in the 70's. Where's our Bakshi of today?

Here is one page (of many) of poses from yesterday's class. If you compare this to my gesture sketches in earlier posts, you'll see that these are much more fluid and have better weight distribution, posture and... substance. It's crazy how much two hours in one little class can change so much. Thanks to Scott.

Like a sponge.

   Hey everyone. I just got home from my first figure drawing class taught by the very knowledgeable and skilled animator, Scott T. Peterson. Scott's animated for WB, Dreamworks, and Disney, and has taught animation around the world. He owns his own studio here in Provo, Utah, and also teaches classes. I called Scott about taking an animation class, but he isn't holding any in the near future. So he told me to come take his figure drawing class for now, and if we can get 4-5 people together he'll start up another animation class later. *exaggerated fist retraction*
   Anyway, I learned so much just in the first session of class that it's changed the way I'll draw from now on. It's like a dam broke and creativity is rushing through my brain. I can't thank Scott enough, and CAN'T WAIT till next class. (yes, the all-caps was necessary there...) Keep checkin the ol' blog, I plan on uploading a new idea I'm playing with.
   Oh, and I figured out a new way to scan my drawings that will make my uploads much more visible. Today's just a good day.

Dive dive dive!

Today I took the liberty of partaking in a mini-challenge over on the 11 Second Club Blog. The challenge was to animate a character on a diving board. I'm actually pretty happy with it.

This is always fun

Haven't done one of these in a while. I just sit and draw whatever comes to mind, or whatever passes into my field of vision.

Drawing from Life (kinda)

    I've been doing alot of figure drawing using this site: http://www.pixelovely.com/gesture/figuredrawing.php. It's not as good as the real thing, but when the closest figure drawing group is thirty+ miles away, you improvise.

   Here are some 2 minute sketches.

And below are some 30 second sketches. These are the funnest to do. Since you only have 30 seconds, it forces you to stop thinking in terms like "arm", "leg", "neck", etc. and instead makes you focus on shape.

Oh yea

I did attempt the 11 Second Club's May competition, but got promoted at work (unfortunately) and didn't have time to commit to it. I've been adding to it bit by bit, to be completed sometime in the future. Here we are so far.

Dragging my feet.

Well well well, in my last post I assured myself that I wasn't going to catch the summer bug and get distracted from my animated path. It happened. Don't get me wrong, I've drawn and drawn and animated a bit, but there are so many fun things to go and do in the sun.

A week ago, I moved into an apartment, leaving most of my distractions at my dad's house. So really the only thing to do here is animate. Which is AWESOME. In the past couple days I picked up Eric Goldberg's book and ran through three of his exercises on spacing.

I apologize for the quality, I need to find a way to darken these things.

In these exercises, I took Eric's keys and filled in my own inbetweens according to his charts.

Here, I took the basic idea of this chapter (using a large gap in spacing with enough inbetweens before and after to make it work believably), and applied it to Link.

Well, I think I'm going to give this month's 11 Second Club competition a try. www.11secondclub.com. This month's audio is a musical number, as opposed to the usual dialogue. Listening to it got me very excited and I settled on an idea for the piece. Updates can be expected as I make progress.

More random sketching

Little Girl

 A while ago I came up with an idea for a tiny short film and started designing the characters. This is my earliest design of the little girl in the short.

After drawing her over and over, and even doing a couple of animation tests, I decided that the design was flat and unappealing (not to mention ugly, embarrassing, yada yada). The name was also a no-no. So I went "back to the drawing board."

 I liked this design alot better. I felt like it was going in the right direction, but was disproportionate and  awkward. So I kept drawing.

I think I finally tied down what I'm looking for. On to the next character. Updates soon.